Equipping Ministries Internationalhttps://www.equippingministriesinternational.org
Giving a hand-up, not a hand-out.Wed, 30 Jan 2019 00:43:30 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.3Prayer for Sudanese refugees in Ugandahttps://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2017/03/11/prayer-sudanese-refugees-uganda/
https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2017/03/11/prayer-sudanese-refugees-uganda/#respondSat, 11 Mar 2017 20:58:22 +0000http://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/?p=2442Dear friends, The civil war in South Sudan has reached epic proportions. Over 1.5 million people, most of which are vulnerable women and children, have fled the country. This has created the largest refugee crises in Africa and the third largest in the world (after Syria and Afghanistan). No area has escaped this crises including

The civil war in South Sudan has reached epic proportions. Over 1.5 million people, most of which are vulnerable women and children, have fled the country. This has created the largest refugee crises in Africa and the third largest in the world (after Syria and Afghanistan).

No area has escaped this crises including our many friends in Western Equitoria. They are not just statistics, they are friends that we have come to know and love over many years and they are suffering terribly. They have sent urgent messages to the “faithful in America” for prayers and financial support, in this time of critical need.
PLEASE GIVE PRAYERFUL CONSIDERATION TO THEIR URGENT REQUEST. Here is a news article.

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https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2017/02/08/january-2017/#respondWed, 08 Feb 2017 23:48:03 +0000http://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/?p=2375Dear Friends, It’s here again, the beginning of another year. And as always, there are many stories to tell. The work you help us do is having an impact now and for eternity as the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues to change lives. We are grateful we can be a part of His work through

It’s here again, the beginning of another year. And as always, there are many stories to tell. The work you help us do is having an impact now and for eternity as the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues to change lives. We are grateful we can be a part of His work through your prayers and financial support.

Equipping Ministries International (EMI) is a holistic ministry that includes Business as Missions (BaM), a division that breaks the cycle of welfare-type dependency as we labor, literally, in difficult places. It is the Hand-up, not the Hand-out portion of EMI’s ministry work, a Servant-Leadership Model that gets our hands dirty along with everyone else’s in the work of the farm!

Why do we view EMI’s BaM as such an important component of ministry? Biblically we see that after the Fall of mankind into sin in Genesis 3, several curses came about that demonstrate areas of brokenness in our world. First, God’s relationship with man was fractured (Gen 3:23-24). Second, the abundance of the land (Genesis 1:28-29) was greatly diminished and resources became scarce (Genesis 3:17). Third, relationships that were created to be good between people became contentious (Genesis 3:16). Fourth, man’s relationship with the “very good” Creation (Genesis 1:31) became antagonistic (Genesis 3:17-19).

These four areas of brokenness are addressed in EMI’s BaM Model. Through Biblical teaching and preaching God’s Word, man can be restored to a right relationship with God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Man’s lack of abundance is improved as meaningful employment is provided whereby families can provide for themselves, which allows for dignity and self-worth. Opportunity to learn skills and techniques such as improved farming and cultivation practices increases the productivity of those we work with. Relationships one with another are improved as Biblical principles for marriage, family, and community are taught and modeled, not only in the local church but also in the workplace, breaking the cycle of tribal hostilities. Finally, we address the care of creation as we use a closed water system that captures and reuses all the agricultural fertilizer run-off that could negatively affect the lake water; work to eliminate littering on the farm and better garbage disposal, build outhouses and latrines, establish clean drinking water reserves, and change detrimental practices such as dumping engine oil on the ground as engines and machines are repaired and serviced.

At the farm we work with five different tribes, including Christian, Muslim, and Animist from the Ashanti, Ewe, Dagbon, Kawahu, and Dagomba tribes. Employment on the farm demands a partnership where people of different ethnicities must work respectfully together. This working relationship with a diversity of tribes is a new phenomenon for the area and a testimony of the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.

It is so interesting to us that the Ewe tribe employed on the farm in Africa are originally from Benin, a country just East of Ghana, where the majority of the slaves that were displaced to Haiti originated. In 1994, we began ministering in Haiti. Just as it was there, those who don’t yet know the Savior even today bring their same Voodoo and occult practices with them to the farm. It astounds us how God weaves all of these threads together in the tapestry of our lives and ministry experiences to share the Good News of Christ.

The farm has started two schools in the community that will allow for children to have a Biblical educational start, one that can affect generational changes in this area and the country. Starting a school is an essential part of the holistic work of EMI, particularly as it relates to the formation of a Biblical World View and to ending tribal hostility.

We and our co-laborers are excited to report that the farming productivity in this area has nearly doubled. The farm not only employees people from different tribes, but it encourages local farmers by buying their agricultural products, helping them help themselves. In 2016 we began milling rice from our farm, as well as that which we purchase from small farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture voted one of our community’s small farmers the Best Rice Farmer for the Ashanti District. Don was voted the Best Pig Farmer for this same region. Both will be vying in their divisions for National Recognition.

Tragically, after so much growth and success on the farm, in the fall of 2016, the farm’s corn crop fell victim to a plague that hit many countries in Africa last year, the African Army Worm. After nine crops in four and a half years that continued to increase and improve, last fall’s corn crop was virtually wiped out. Don worked day and night, trying to combat the African Army Worm plague, but eventually the crop had to be plowed under. It was heartbreaking. We are now planting other crops that were not attacked by this plague, hoping to make it back on our feet to keep people employed through this difficult time until the new crops are ready to harvest. This is a time when only the faith that comes from serving a Sovereign God sustains us.

So, we covet your prayers as we see lives changing as Christ is proclaimed and families are empowered to care for themselves; we also need your financial help to sustain our work as we make adjustments to continue this project that is having such an impact on so many lives.

]]>https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2017/02/08/january-2017/feed/0Good News Under a Triple Canopy Rainforesthttps://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2011/10/13/good-news-under-a-triple-canopy-rainforest/
https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2011/10/13/good-news-under-a-triple-canopy-rainforest/#respondThu, 13 Oct 2011 01:27:45 +0000http://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/?p=2296Our hearts are broken by the much neglected, shy Batwa people (Pygmees) who live deep in the forest of DR Congo. When first introduced, Don immediately saw their plight and met with the local chiefs asking, “How can we help?” With no church, school, or medical facility in this area, 3,000 people are estimated to

]]>Our hearts are broken by the much neglected, shy Batwa people (Pygmees) who live deep in the forest of DR Congo. When first introduced, Don immediately saw their plight and met with the local chiefs asking, “How can we help?” With no church, school, or medical facility in this area, 3,000 people are estimated to live in forested small villages of 40-60 people. Understanding their desires and needs, Equipping Ministries is helping clear land, prepare lumber, and begin construction for a new church plant, school, and medical facility. Working hard with Equipping Ministries, the Pygmees are volunteering most of the labor at the site they chose, deep in this triple canopy rainforest.

Don, Suzy and 17-year-old daughter Braman were all able to join in this project. When Braman returned home she was asked, “What do you think it meant to the Batwa people to see you as a family all come?” She grinned and wisely replied, “They knew for sure that we loved them!”

]]>https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2011/10/13/good-news-under-a-triple-canopy-rainforest/feed/0VIOLENCE OF UGANDAN REBELS CONTINUES IN YAMBIO SAYS BISHOP HIIBOROhttps://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/09/23/violence-of-ugandan-rebels-continues-in-yambio-says-bishop-hiiboro/
https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/09/23/violence-of-ugandan-rebels-continues-in-yambio-says-bishop-hiiboro/#respondThu, 23 Sep 2010 03:15:28 +0000http://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/?p=2319“The world has forgotten us, it’s terrible”, said to MISNA Monsignor Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, Bishop of the diocese of Tombura-Yambio, after celebrating the funerals of the latest victims of the Ugandan rebels of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army). LRA attacks and raids are relentless in this main Sudanese city in West Equatoria, not far from

]]>“The world has forgotten us, it’s terrible”, said to MISNA Monsignor Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, Bishop of the diocese of Tombura-Yambio, after celebrating the funerals of the latest victims of the Ugandan rebels of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army). LRA attacks and raids are relentless in this main Sudanese city in West Equatoria, not far from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The last victims were killed in the middle on the night on Saturday, just 2km from the centre of Yambio. “They even abducted 18 women and children”, added Monsignor Hiiboro Kussala. Last Friday the Ugandan rebels ambushed a car at around 20km from the city, shooting dead five people. These episodes come in a dramatic context not only in the Tombura-Yambio diocese and Western Equatoria state, but also over the borders. In Yambio there is even a Ugandan military post, say MISNA sources, “but the soldiers don’t ever hunt the rebels when they return to the base in the forest”. The insecurity is also affecting the economy, adds Monsignor Hiiboro Kussala, “because the people are too afraid to work in the fields”. An international conference was organised for Wednesday in Yambio to call for a decisive intervention of governments against the LRA violence. Bishops and officials from Sudan, the Central African Republic and DR-Congo will meet for three days to address the ongoing attacks and violence. Based on UN estimates, since the start of 2009 and last July the LRA rebels killed at least 1,500 people, forcing tens of thousands to flee.

]]>https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/09/23/violence-of-ugandan-rebels-continues-in-yambio-says-bishop-hiiboro/feed/0Uganda LRA rebels ‘on massive forced recruitment drive’https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/09/22/uganda-lra-rebels-on-massive-forced-recruitment-drive/
https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/09/22/uganda-lra-rebels-on-massive-forced-recruitment-drive/#respondWed, 22 Sep 2010 03:14:29 +0000http://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/?p=2317This 10-year-old boy was abducted in DR Congo in May and managed to escape a few weeks later Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been accused of going on a massive forced recruitment campaign in remote areas of central Africa. Human Rights Watch said the group had brutally abducted at least 697 adults and

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This 10-year-old boy was abducted in DR Congo in May and managed to escape a few weeks later
Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been accused of going on a massive forced recruitment campaign in remote areas of central Africa. Human Rights Watch said the group had brutally abducted at least 697 adults and children over the past 18 months.
Civilians were said to have been taken in remote regions of the Central African Republic (CAR) and the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The LRA, led by Joseph Kony, has fought the Ugandan government since 1986.
Its fighters, who are being hunted by Ugandan special forces, are now spread across northern DR Congo, Southern Sudan and the east of the CAR.
“They’ve been carrying out mass-scale abductions in order to replenish their ranks,” Anneke Van Woudenberg, a senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, told the BBC’s World Today programme.
Some of those abducted managed to escape, bringing with them tales of children forced to kill other children and trained to treat other human beings as animals.
“The LRA tied the hands of the victims behind their back, a cord around their legs, and placed the victims face down on the ground,” a 12-year-old Congolese girl told Human Rights Watch.
“Then the LRA would give us children a heavy wooden stick and force us to beat them on the head till they died.”
International action
The Human Rights Watch report says girls are being used for sex or as servants. Refusing sexual relations is often punished by death.
“We’ve conducted interviews with hundreds of people over the course of the past month. And the evidence is overwhelming that this is indeed being ordered by the LRA’s leader Joseph Kony and being carried out by his top commanders,” Ms Van Woudenberg said.
To escape these activities, 54,000 villagers have fled from their homes in the Bas Uele region of northern DR Congo.
Mr Kony began his rebellion 20 years ago, claiming to want to install a Bible-based theocracy in Uganda.
He is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and now lives an itinerant life, crossing between Sudan and the CAR.

]]>https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/09/22/uganda-lra-rebels-on-massive-forced-recruitment-drive/feed/0Prayer Requested For Don While In Haitihttps://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/09/11/prayer-requested-for-don-while-in-haiti/
https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/09/11/prayer-requested-for-don-while-in-haiti/#respondSat, 11 Sep 2010 03:13:13 +0000http://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/?p=2315Prayer is so appreciated while Don is in Haiti. He is not there with a team, although he is working with the Haitian men who he has worked with before. Pastor Banes has worked with Don since 1995 and Don met Luelle after the earthquake and has been helping Don ever since that time. Don

]]>Prayer is so appreciated while Don is in Haiti. He is not there with a team, although he is working with the Haitian men who he has worked with before. Pastor Banes has worked with Don since 1995 and Don met Luelle after the earthquake and has been helping Don ever since that time. Don is working on several projects while there on this trip. Clean water remains critical for the people of Haiti. Don reported yesterday that they have secured a piece of land near the tent-city that the GSCC team worked in during the May-June trip, where over 30,000 people are living without clean water or facilities. This is where Don and the team organized the two His & Her latrines for those in the tent city. It may not seems like much, but these are the only toilets for all of these people so far. One of the goals is to put in a well on this property that is adjacent to the tent city to provide water for the people. To this end, Don has purchased a container for secure storage and enough holding tanks for 30,000 gallons of water so that water can be distributed immediately, as well as water filters, until the well can be drilled and secured.

The cost of everything has increased in Haiti since the earthquake, so please pray that God will provide the necessary resources to complete all of this work. We are grateful for all who have helped, but there is more to do.

]]>https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/09/11/prayer-requested-for-don-while-in-haiti/feed/0Fake Emailhttps://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/07/26/fake-email/
https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/07/26/fake-email/#respondMon, 26 Jul 2010 03:12:15 +0000http://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/?p=2313If you have recently recieved an email that appears to be from (dnwar3@aol.com) with out subject or text and only a URL link… Do not open the link. I DID NOT SEND THIS. Sorry for the trouble… Someone hacked in and sent out the email.

]]>https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/07/26/fake-email/feed/0Haiti Updatehttps://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/04/19/haiti-update/
https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/04/19/haiti-update/#respondMon, 19 Apr 2010 03:11:19 +0000http://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/?p=2311When the news came about the earthquake in Haiti I was in the middle of planning a lengthy mission trip to D.R. Congo. It had been over a year since I was last in Haiti. My thoughts and prayers were for my many friends and colleagues that I had come to know and love over

]]>When the news came about the earthquake in Haiti I was in the middle of planning a lengthy mission trip to D.R. Congo. It had been over a year since I was last in Haiti. My thoughts and prayers were for my many friends and colleagues that I had come to know and love over the 10 years I served as a Country Coordinator there with Evangelism Explosion. But what could I possibly do, the tragedy was so great and our resources so small. I was soon convicted that even if I couldn’t do everything, I could do something. That something was WATER. We could help provide clean, safe drinking water. It was surely one of the most critical needs there.

The airport in Port-au-Prince was badly damaged and closed, so I flew to Dominican Republic with my twin brother Dan. We carried with us 100 Sawyer Point One water filters, along with some medicine and a few supplies. Then we purchased more supplies in the Dominican Republic and boarded a small plane to Jacmel, Haiti to meet Pastor Banes, the Haiti National Director for Evangelism Explosion and begin our work. Over the next four weeks we distributed nearly five hundred water filters systems. All of this was made possible because of the generous support of our friends at Good Shepherd Community Church, Evangelism Explosion, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, United Caribbean Trust, GAIN USA and many, many others. Since then distribution has continued and to-date nearly one thousand water filter systems have been distributed.

Each water filter system recipient has committed to share the over 120 gallons of filtered water per day with at least ten of his neighbors families. This is effectively now providing clean, safe drinking water for 10,000 Haitian families; over 120,000 gallons of clean, safe water EVERY DAY for years to come. What is even more exciting is that most of these filters were distributed to people trained in personal evangelism and all of this done through the local churches. This means people come to get clean, safe drinking water and hear about the LIVING WATER available by trusting in Jesus Christ. As funds become available we pray more water filter systems can be distributed. Many thousands more will be needed. When the water filter systems are distributed in this way it takes only $5.00 per family to provide all of the clean safe drinking water they need for years to come, less than a penny per day per family .

It is true that the problems in Haiti have never been greater, but I believe the opportunity to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ has never been GREATER. It is in times like this when the question we should be asking ourselves is this “What is it that God would have me to do for the least of the brethren. “

Nobody can do everything but everyone can do something. Thank you for caring and supporting this effort.

]]>https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/04/19/haiti-update/feed/0LRA Kills Over 300 in Easthttps://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/03/29/lra-kills-over-300-in-east/
https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/03/29/lra-kills-over-300-in-east/#respondMon, 29 Mar 2010 03:09:31 +0000http://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/?p=2309Kampala — A human rights organisation yesterday released a chilling report indicating that the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) killed at least 321 civilians during a previously unreported four-day rampage in northeastern Congo in December. The rampaging rebels, according to the report by Human Rights Watch, also abducted 250 villagers, including at least 80 children. The

]]>Kampala — A human rights organisation yesterday released a chilling report indicating that the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) killed at least 321 civilians during a previously unreported four-day rampage in northeastern Congo in December.

The rampaging rebels, according to the report by Human Rights Watch, also abducted 250 villagers, including at least 80 children.

The massacre was perpetrated by rebel commanders Binansio Okumu, also known as Binany, and Obol.

The two, the report said, report to Dominic Ongwen who commands the LRA forces in Congo and is among those indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

“The Makombo massacre is one of the worst ever committed by the LRA in its bloody 23-year history, yet it has gone unreported for months,” said Anneke Van Woudenberg of Human Rights Watch.

The report is based on a fact-finding mission to the massacre area in February. It documents the brutal killings during the well-planned LRA attack from December 14 to 17 in the remote Makombo area of Haute Uele district.

Dressed in military uniforms, the rebels pretended to be Congolese soldiers who had spent months in the forests and asked local people for food and other goods.

]]>https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/03/29/lra-kills-over-300-in-east/feed/0LRA Attacks and Congolese Army Abuses in Northeastern Congohttps://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/03/12/lra-attacks-and-congolese-army-abuses-in-northeastern-congo/
https://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/2010/03/12/lra-attacks-and-congolese-army-abuses-in-northeastern-congo/#respondFri, 12 Mar 2010 03:08:04 +0000http://www.equippingministriesinternational.org/?p=2307The Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, continues to pose a severe threat to civilians in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1] Since the LRA began attacking civilians on Congolese soil in September of 2008 through the end of 2009, it has killed approximately 1,800 civilians, [2] with 300 deaths during December 2009.[3] More than 100

]]>The Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, continues to pose a severe threat to civilians in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1] Since the LRA began attacking civilians on Congolese soil in September of 2008 through the end of 2009, it has killed approximately 1,800 civilians, [2] with 300 deaths during December 2009.[3] More than 100 people were killed during January 2010.[4]

Units from the Congolese national army, or FARDC, sent to protect civilians and fight the LRA have shown little interest in either task. Congolese soldiers largely refuse to engage LRA while constantly harassing the local population. Incidents of rape, looting, beatings, and even killings of innocent civilians by Congolese soldier abound. There were 116 reported cases of rapes allegedly committed by Congolese soldiers last October in just one neighborhood near the Congolese army base in Dungu.[5] Meanwhile, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, or MONUC, is stretched too thin to adequately protect civilians in the vast region where the LRA operates, often in diffuse cells.

The movement of some LRA elements into Darfur should alarm policymakers and spark revitalized international efforts to deal with the militia.[6] But these efforts should not neglect the LRA’s continuing ability to wreak havoc in northeastern Congo. Both the Congolese army and MONUC should urgently prioritize the protection of civilians. The Congolese army should take swift action to deal with abuses committed by its soldiers, prosecuting those who commit abuses with a focus on command responsibility. Moreover, a credible investigation into the embezzlement of U.N.-provided rations and supplies for the Congolese army is urgently required. The misuse of such materials contributes to the army’s bad behavior and is an obstacle to more effective efforts to deal with the LRA.

U.N. presence, especially in the areas worst affected by LRA violence, is crucial. Unsurprisingly, LRA attacks happen most frequently in places with no peacekeepers. A promised contingent of Tunisian peacekeepers should be deployed immediately to Province Orientale. The majority of the newly arrived troops should be deployed to Niangara, Ngilima, and Bangadi, with at least some presence in Bas Uele. This force will need rapid response capability, including helicopters and other vehicles. In the meantime, MONUC should conduct frequent and routine joint patrols with FARDC soldiers. Joint patrols help enormously in terms of protection and evidence demonstrates that Congolese soldiers behave better when in the company of peacekeepers.

If the Congolese army can improve its behavior, U.N. cooperation with it should expand to include information sharing and coordinated operations aimed at protecting civilians and neutralizing the LRA. Wherever possible, such cooperation should also be established with the Ugandan army, which is still operating in Congo in pursuit of the LRA. Successful cooperation between Congo’s army, MONUC, and Ugandan forces appears to have succeeded in protecting the population of Faradje from attacks last year and compelling the LRA commander, Lt. Colonel Charles Arop, to surrender in November.

Practical steps to improve civilian protection can also contribute to a more coherent regional approach to end the threat posed by the LRA. MONUC’s civilian component also has an important role to play. Political affairs officers with the capacity to collect and analyze information on the LRA should be deployed to Dungu. Likewise, increasing cross-border cooperation between U.N. operations in Congo, Sudan, and Central African Republic, or CAR, could help to develop a more holistic strategy, under the aegis of the U.N. Security Council.